At least three infant children suffered injuries while in the care of Jessica Joy Wiese, and police say there could be more victims.

Author:
WFAA.com Staff

Published:
4:57 PM CST December 5, 2018

Updated:
10:19 PM CST December 5, 2018

A daycare worker in McKinney was arrested and immediately fired after at least three infant children in her care were injured.

Jessica Joy Wiese worked at the McKinney Joyous Montessori school, which has five DFW campuses. McKinney police said a two-month-old in her care suffered broken bones.

According to arrest records, Weise told investigators she slipped and accidentally injured the child.

But police say she's caught on video "shaking the child up and down several times" and that the shaking appeared to be an "intentional act."

There were at least two other infant victims, according to police, but their injuries weren’t immediately clear.

Wiese was arrested on an injury to a child charge and booked into the Collin County Jail on Tuesday, jail records show.

"A lot of time children's voices aren't heard and I'm glad it was especially in the city of McKinney," said Shawna Vasquez, a neighbor of the Joyous Montessori School in McKinney.

Police were reaching out to the families of any children who were under Wiese’s supervision between May of 2016 and December of 2018, according to a media bulletin.

WFAA met with Ariel Murphy who is identified in an arrest affidavit with accusations against Wiese. She says her son Kairo, only two months old, was hurt by a teacher at the daycare in McKinney.

She says Kairo came home last week with a bruise on his leg. The next day Ariel confronted the daycare.

"They said it was a birth mark. Then they changed the story saying it was due to a rough diaper change," said Murphy.

She immediately took him to a hospital. And there, the worst news was confirmed. She says doctors says her son had 8 broken ribs, four on each side, and a broken femur and two ankles.

"I had to walk off. I was devastated. The tears were flowing...I was disgusted," she said.

Joyous Montessori apologized to the families of the victims in a public statement Wednesday afternoon, while acknowledging that Wiese passed all background checks before gaining employment at the school.

“On behalf of Joyous Montessori, we want to express our deepest sympathy to the injured infant and to her family for the pain and distress caused by the actions of Jessica Joy Wiese,” the statement read.

“All our centers have trained and certified staff-members which undergo an extensive background check and pre-employment screening. Unfortunately, Jessica Joy Wiese passed all background checks and has no prior history which would lead us to believe she could be capable of something like this. Jessica Joy Wiese was terminated immediately upon the discovery of this information.

“At Joyous Montessori, we are passionate about caring for and loving all children entrusted to us. We will remain diligent in thoroughly screening staff members to ensure that this never happens to another child entrusted in our care.”

The school does have a clean record. WFAA couldn't find any any complaints through state licensing officials, and McKinney PD says this is the first criminal complaint against the facility.

Wiese’s court records show several minor offenses between September of 2015 and January of 2017, including failure require school attendance, parent contributing to non-attendance and failure to appear in court.

Concerned parents of children who have attended Joyous Montessori are asked to call McKinney police at (972) 547-2710.